Expenditure Visibility and Consumer Behavior: New Evidence

Ori Heffetz

No 25161, NBER Working Papers from National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc

Abstract: Expenditure visibility—the extent to which a household’s spending on a consumption category is noticeable to others—is measured in three new surveys, with ~3,000 telephone and online respondents. Visibility shows little change across time (ten years) and survey methods. Four different notions, or dimensions, of visibility are measured: the noticeability of above-average spending on a category; that of below-average spending; and the positivity/negativity of impressions made by above- and below-average spending. Jointly, these visibility measures explain up to three quarters or more of the observed variation in total-expenditure elasticities across consumption categories in U.S. data. Possible theoretical explanations are explored.

JEL-codes: D12 D83 D91 Z13 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018-10
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-ure
Note: AG PE
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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